Sweet Memories
by bluebuttonsilverneedle
Summary: In a city ravaged by gangs, drug abuse, and violence there is a much darker figure pulling the strings in the back. Konoha Police Force Investigation puts Sakura Haruno on the case to find out who the Topeng Killer is. There are more characters in this story however it will center around Sakura and Akatsuki members. There will be weekly updates (maybe, fingers crossed!).
1. Prelude

**Prelude**

 **A/N: Teal and Chelle apologize for the disappearance. However we would love to introduce a new story that we're trying to tackle at the moment. Here's a little teaser. Let us know if we should continue! :)**

If one approached Konoha, they would see two giant gate doors angled out to allow entry. They say the founder, Hashirama Senju, wanted everyone to be part of Konoha. He had the giant gates built to represent open arms. Everyone around would see from miles the love that would embrace and welcome guests and future family members of the grand city. Another rumor was that the cofounder, Madara Uchiha, was protective of the people in the city and didn't want anyone to attack; he demanded that they build a gate to keep the city safe. Whatever the quarrel may be, both cherished the Hidden Leaf Village and wanted the best for it.

Unfortunately, Konoha has long since distanced itself from the past. It's spirit worn down, weak much like the graffitied gates when one approached the city today. Many solutions had been tossed around. They had tried to paint over, but it would inevitably come back much like flies to roadkill. The gates were a monument and a high expense to the city. The wood was rotting and needing constant repairs to make sure it was stable for people to be around. Eventually, small adjustments here and there would be useless. The gates would require a full remodel which meant much more money. Danzō Shimura (a city council member) suggested that the most 'economic friendly' choice would be to remove the gates. After a heated debate within the council, it was with a heavy heart that the majority agreed. Little did they know that council member Danzō, in his act to save taxpayers' money, started a chain reaction. It would bring on one of the deadliest genocides and in turn give birth to a serial killer notoriously known today as Topeng.

The Uchiha highly opposed the idea of the gate being taken down. They held great pride in being descendants of Madara and building up the Konoha Police Force Investigation (KPFI). To take down a monument that their very own ancestor helped to build was like taking down their gratitude for building up the city to what it is today. It was whispered around that the Great Madara still lives in each of their hearts, and gives them inhuman strength to keep protecting the city. Nevertheless, the Uchiha Clan had contributed greatly to Konoha and they felt they had enough power to halt the procedure altogether. The mayor of the time, Hiruzen Sarutobi, took their protest to heart and was able to convince the city council to rethink and re vote their decision.

Danzō was disgusted at how the mayor would sway one way or another because of the Uchiha. But the judgment from Danzō was the least of Sarutobi's concerns. Rumors began to spread. It was whispered how the clan had so much power, too much power, and could take over the entire city if they wanted to. People began to point out criminals who were Uchiha's and compared their jail time with someone of a different lineage. They said that the KPFI was corrupt. It hurt the pride of the clan and the trust between citizens. Some verbal fights would break out all over the city about 'loyalty' and 'misuse of power' whenever an Uchiha walked by. However none of this would have elevated the problem as much as the Sharin Gang. Uchiha's felt their name was tarnished, yet their pride swelled. They began to proudly state their name and flaunt their heritage. Tattoos of a black dot with a ring surrounding it carrying three swirls began to spread around the clan. It symbolized the city, the surrounding walls, and the three stations that were run strictly by the Uchiha. They began walking in groups around town, defending their name. It was starting to get out of hand. Mere bickering escalated into full out fist fights. But it became apparent that only one Uchiha had the combat skills to take on 3 common men. Some abused their inherited power. They would go out together and rob petty convenience stores or mug citizens proclaiming the "Uchiha's Sharin Gang" was unstoppable.

The Sharin Gang prompted many others to be created like Anbu, Yami, and the Byaku Gang. Many youths suffered or ruled at school solely because of their last name. Gangs and hierarchies were formed as friendship and trust dimmed out like the light when walking deeper and deeper into a dark cave. Sarutobi gave speeches across all schools about how 'pride should be put aside' with little to no effect on the hardened children's minds. Shortly after, Mayor Sarutobi's term ended and Minato Namikaze was elected. Less than a year of being in term, Minato and his wife were assassinated. By law, Sarutobi was to take his place temporarily.

Danzō only used the fear of the Sharin to his advantage and spoke of their greed to take over. Soon people refused to live remotely close to a family with that name. They were pushed to a corner and isolated from the rest of the town. The KPFI was accused of discrimination and corruption. People demanded that those who weren't of Uchiha should run the KPFI. Sarutobi wanted a compromise and sought out help from Tsunade who was already working under KPFI. With the public's opinion as well as the mayor's, Fugaku Uchiha stepped down and put Tsunade in charge. Things seemed to be getting better.

The Uchiha Massacre occurred late at night. Two survivors: Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha were pushed out into the world. The wall swayed. As the killer ran free so did the gangs as they began to grow. With the Sharin out of the way, arguments over turf and who would be the new strongest broke out. At the time the majority of the gangs evened out. A temporary standstill occurred until Akatsuki came to be.


	2. He Had It Coming

**He Had It Coming**

 **A/N: Pein is what the members refer to him as and we will continue referring to Nagato as Pein. **He does NOT look like Yahiko!** and he doesn't look all sickly either! Just a healthier version of Nagato. Zetsu is going to be two individual people: Kuro and Shiro (twins). Lastly, if you didn't already get it from the summary or prelude, this story is intended to be set in a modern age.**

 **12:23am, April 18**

A loud sob of disbelief and anger echoed as Deidara fell to his knees. A dead Sasori laid on the ground with blood seeping from a bullet wound, straight through his heart, onto the wood chips only a few feet away. "Come on, Deidara." Pein's voice was gentle, but heavy with the knowledge that crying will do nothing to help.

"Somebody heard that gunshot. The police will probably be on their way." Itachi couldn't help but notice how much of a mess this had become in less than minute.

"Can we fucking leave now?" Hidan asked. Police arresting them was not part of the plan and he didn't intend to go through the whole interrogation thing all over again.

"That's kind of insensitive."

"Don't you care if we get CAUGHT, Kisame?" Hidan retorted.

"I mean Deidara's right here! You just watched a man get shot. Shouldn't _you_ care about someone who's-I don't know- our friend? He's-"

"That's bullshit! At least I did what I was supposed to do. It wasn't my fault!"

"No one's blaming you, Hidan. Shut up." Kakuzu couldn't help but get involved. The shock was beginning to wear off, becoming replaced by anger and confusion. They didn't know what to do besides argue.

"Oh and where the hell-" Pein turned around; the glare he leveled towards them brought silence once more to the group.

"This...this can't be happening.." Deidara looked around. "Am I dreaming?".

"C'mon we have to get going, Deidara." Pein spoke with pauses to make sure his friend understood. When he received no reply, he quickly turned to the twins still near the tree. "Clean this up. Get rid of any evidence that we were here. I'll take Deidara home." He slowly pulled the blonde to his feet. Turning towards Itachi and Kisame, "I don't need to tell you guys where to put them, right?" There was an odd emphasis on 'them'. As if, to Pein, saying the word 'drugs' itself was a crime. Which should be a crime. What kind of person sells drugs, but can't say it? Hidan and Kakuzu were ordered to check the building where the gun went off. Stone cold eyes stared out at the rainy sky. He failed as a leader.

 **12:25am, April 18**

Deidara continued to repeat the words 'this isn't real' while Pein walked him to his car. "I'll drive you home." When the blonde realized what the Akatsuki leader was about to do he tugged himself from under the heavy arm. Pein knew he was overstepping his boundaries, but at the same time Deidara's grief was palpable. Past experience had taught him that death was more forgiving on the one that died.

"I can walk." Deidara pushed a hand off his shoulder, turned around, and walked off towards his dorm. A text was sent to Kuro and Shiro to watch over Deidara. The twins were busy! They had cleaning to do. This message was then forwarded to a masked man-child wandering around the city looking for 'the best show' (whatever that meant).

 **1:03am, April 18**

Tears streamed down the blonde's face. He couldn't go inside his dorm. Why? Because Sasori was in there. Sasori was all over that damn place. Opening the door was easy; he thought he'd just lie and go to sleep on the couch. He couldn't. The entire place smelled like Sasori. Sasori's puppets, Sasori's work, Sasori's furrowed eyebrows, Sasori's brown eyes, Sasori's dead eyes, Sasori's dead body, Sasori's blood everywhere. He was shaking too much. Everything was going too fast and he accidentally ran out and slammed the door shut.

How was he stupid enough to lock himself from his room with his keys AND phone? Somebody had to help him get back in. Did he want to go in? Did he want to answer that question? He'd rather have mouths for hands than get help from Itachi. Kisame was always with him anyway so there'd be no point in asking him. Hidan and Kakuzu wouldn't do a single thing for him without Deidara paying some fee or listening to the Jashinist preach his 'word'. Pein was doing leader stuff and how embarassing to ask your higher up to break into your apartment. That left Kuro and Shiro. They were creepy to say the least. There was a rumor around town that the twins were cannibals. Tears blurred his visions and a silent cry escaped his opened mouth. Sasori would've helped him. Sasori would have rolled his eyes right now and called him-

"Senpai," Blue eyes snapped open, "what are you doing outside of your room?" A mass of golden hair whipped around.

"Tobi?" It was utter shock combined with disbelief. It was a dream, definitely a hallucination. He blinked twice. "What..what are you doing outside of my room?" It held no hostility that the blonde usually carried toward him. Rather, it held the tiredness of an overworked mother who was just fired from her job, but had three kids to feed at home. There was no emotion in that voice. As if feeling the overwhelming sadness was too much to bear in itself.

"Kuro and Shiro texted me to stop by. They said that since Sasori-" at the name Deidara's legs shook and he fell to his knees and began to wail. He wrapped his arms around himself and rocked gently. Sasori was dead. He had died. There was nothing left. He was nothing. His eyes hurt. Everything hurt. Arms wrapped around him. He felt himself being lifted. A light pinch was felt and everything was getting dizzy. Maybe he should just go to sleep now.

 **3:45am, April 18**

Right now, a meeting is called for almost all police and detectives to gather in the main area of the KPFI (Konoha Police Force of Investigation) building. Chief Tsunade stood at the front with her arms crossed. Her assistant, Shizune, stood off to the side. Many officers were upset and restless considering this meeting was so early in the morning. A pink haired officer in particular was extremely upset. Why was this meeting so important? The entire police force was here! After around 30 minutes to make sure everyone was present, the chief cleared her throat. "This meeting will start with the topic being the serial killer named Topeng."

"Glad to know you called EVERYONE here so we could be aware that the Topeng Killer has struck again. Wow, really needed to hear that at 4 in the morning." Scoffs and murmurs rippled all around. Tsunade slammed her fist down on the pedestal she was speaking from. It shook just like the defiance in everyone's eyes in less than a second.

"The reason I have called you all here was to brief you on Topeng's recent attack on the police force." She stared long and hard around the room. "Neji Hyuga was found dead after his shift today. He hung himself. That was the lead detective for this case. He was in contact with Topeng through anonymous messages left on voicemail. A note was left saying the guilt was too much and he couldn't take it anymore. But a voicemail was left recorded saying 'time is up'. Obviously Neji was influenced by Topeng to take his life." The chief landed her eyes on the cop that spoke out earlier and glared. "I'm here to encourage that we must respond with our minds, not our hearts." The whole room was awake now. Everyone knew Neji was practically hung up on taking Topeng down, but not many realized how much of a toll it took to on him.

Sakura couldn't help but think of Neji's cousin, Hinata. Who would tell her? Again after a long pause Tsunade spoke, "Which is why, as of now, the Topeng Case will be temporarily on hold. The team under Neji should see Shizune after and turn in all files and evidence." There was a long pause. Tsunade was amazed to see how a sea of eyes could change from shock to outrage in a split second of realization.

"You're just gonna let this guy run around crazy, murdering people left and right?" There were shouts in agreement. The police risk their lives everyday. There's no reason why this should be different. Why was Chief making these rushed decisions?

"The fact is we have one of our best out there dead with no explanation, but suicide. I am not willing to let you all drop like flies. This would risk the peace of Konoha. I repeat: the safety of this city is more important than an investigation that will risk the lives of the only ones protecting this city!" Her voice commanded and left no room for arguments. The room was silent once more. "We will take precautions like longer shifts and tighter surveillance in the public, but we will not engage the Topeng Killer head on anymore." The people were divided. How were they to protect if they feared for their lives as well?

 **5:31am, April 18**

The meeting concluded and, as everyone was leaving, Sakura made her way to Chief's office. She received specific orders to see Tsunade after the meeting was over. When she walked in she was surprised to see the chief rubbing her temples with her eyes shut. The green-eyed girl closed the door and greeted her boss.

"Sakura please take a seat," she started immediately, "Sasori Akasuna was found murdered four hours ago roughly 1 in the morning. KPFI was called onto the scene at Sahow Park. There were neither fingerprints, significant disturbances on the playground, nor many clues on events leading up to the point for a gun to be fired. It was only clear, from what the neighbors say, a gunshot then a scream was heard. A mother called some time before the murder to complain about 'a drug dealing' occurring inside the park. She could not see what they were doing, but claimed that they were gathering in a huge bunch 8 or 9 people. Although the killing in Sahow Park this morning was nothing like the pattern Topeng Killer demonstrates, KPFI received an anonymous tip that it was Topeng's doing. A relative of the victim also came in spewing nonsense, almost hysterical, that her grandson was killed by the Topeng Killer."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"I trust you the most, next to Shizune, which is why I didn't put you on the case in the past. But seeing Neji's example shows I need someone more trained and equipped with better decision making skills." She only felt more confused. "I am putting you on a solo mission to catch the serial killer Topeng. Sasori was an Akatsuki Gang member; if his death is what the witnesses say, there may be a connection between Akatsuki and the Topeng Killer. I want you to go undercover and infiltrate them looking for information on how he died."

"How can you be so sure that there is a correlation between Topeng and Akatsuki? You said it yourself that Sasori's death was nothing like the patterns Topeng displays on other victims. True enough you heard it from 2 random people, but is that really the trustworthy type of evidence?" Tsunade pursed her lips together and paused.

"You don't need to ask questions. Orders are absolute. All I need to know is whether or not Topeng was involved. They've been around for a year and we're still at square one. With thirteen victims now, I will take any leads I have left." Guilt spread through the younger and an embarrassed apology was mumbled. Of course Chief knew what she was doing! She's trying her best just like anybody else and is pushing to get this solved. It wasn't less easy to deal with Neji's absence for her than anyone else in the building.

"So when do I start?"

"At 2:00pm you'll see me again for more details. But right now I have," Tsunade looked behind her to see the shadow of a figure by the door, "other people to have discussions with." Both nodded at each other in a goodbye and she exited the room. Once Sakura opened the door, Shizune pushed by holding many files/boxes of evidence looking...overwhelmed.


	3. (S)He's a Liar

**(S)He's a Liar**

 **A/N: **TEAL AND CHELLE DO NOT SUPPORT THE USE OF TAPE/BANDAGES FOR BINDING. A BINDER IN THE PROPER SIZE WORN FOR NO LONGER THAN 8-12 HOURS IS A MUCH SAFER PRACTICE** Please pay close attention to the times given and the date. We'll be sure to post Friday's or Saturday's. Thanks! :)**

 **12:25am, April 18**

Pein finished sending the text to Kuro and Shiro before getting into the car. He doubted any stray Yami members would try to follow him. Cops would be looking to get anyone under arrest. Getting away was the main concern. He just had one more thing to do.

A car pulled up into a driveway. One simple navy blue door, one window closed by familiar gray curtains, and one creaky porch greeted the leader as he walked to view the front of a house. A hand was about to knock before a source of light flickered above him. The door swung open as a long time friend greeted him. "I didn't mean to come so late. I just wanted to drop this off." He extended his arm to offer a thick, wrinkled envelope containing $1,000 dollars. The redhead was surprised when his wrist was pulled (roughly) and the door closed behind him.

The voice began biting into words like crackers. "I'm a single mother with one friend in the entire world. Whenever you visit," strands of hair were tucked behind an ear as the aggression behind the words were lost, "please stay to talk." She turned abruptly to get a box of leftovers along with two cans of soda. Suddenly memories began to cloud over Pein's vision. He felt the burdens and regrets of the present disappear. Time was reversing. The envelope was forgotten in the hand of a little boy named Nagato. He never wanted to leave again.

 **2:00pm, April 18**

Sakura arrived 2:00 sharp. The challenge of Topeng given by Tsunade was daunting and thrilling. But it was odd she would have to meet her boss now and not earlier. The pink haired girl quickly pushed aside that thought. Tsunade was incredibly busy and probably had an important meeting with her higher-ups.

A door clicked open behind the cop and a booming voice came through which made her jump. "Glad to see you early!" Sakura quickly stood up to face her boss. Just behind Tsunade, inside the hallway, Shizune was glaring at Chief's back before she stormed off. "Please take a seat. We've got alot to cover." She returned to her seat still bewildered at Shizune's attitude. "Originally, I was going to have you go under the disguise of a new recruit." Tsunade flicked a manila folder in front of Sakura before sitting behind the desk. "You would've needed to earn their trust, do what they ask, blah blah blah. The entire thing would take too long; Topeng must be stopped before someone else gets hurt. I would like you to be in a position where you can really look into the kind of individuals that join Akatsuki. Find out why the joined, who they're connected to, and if they know the whereabouts of Topeng. Being under disguise as Sasori's relative, you can play off the relationships he had with everyone. He only has 2 living relatives that you can impersonate: his grandmother and his cousin, Himitsu."

"Okay, no problem." Sakura opened the folder to see a picture of Sasori Akasuna. He had a mass of scarlet hair and laid back eyes. A smile played at the corner of his lips. Her eyes scanned the rest of the page to reveal no criminal record whatsoever. What was even more strange was how much more detail the paper went into. There was a long list of addresses, phone numbers, where he went to college, past jobs and many more. Sakura had to wonder how and why the police knew this much about him. Maybe it was a special interrogation?

"Himitsu is a boy." This got Sakura's attention. She had to become..a boy?

"I don't mean any disrespect..but..are you sure you have the right person for this?" She felt the doubt begin to seep into her. To go under the disguise as a boy was incredibly risky. She had to make it convincing or her life could be at risk. _No, you got this._ Sakura remembered all that led up to this point. She could take down Topeng. Sakura would not let anyone down.

"Don't worry. An old friend of mine has someone that can help you." Tsunade's smile beamed and the soon-to-be Himitsu slowly nodded.

 **2:05pm, April 18**

As Shizune was leaving KPFI's main building, she dialed her boyfriend. They've been going for a steady 10 months now and she felt quite confident that they would stay together for some time.

"Hello?"

"Hi," She hesitated on saying a cute nickname then decided fully against it, "turns out I'm off the rest of the evening. So do you want to go out for lunch?" A chuckle was heard from the other side of the phone.

"Yeah, I could go for some food right now. What do you want?" Warmth filled the assistant's chest. Her boyfriend always added that last sentence whenever they were planning. It was exactly the opposite at her stupid work with her stupid boss.

"Surprise me. Let's just meet at the park, okay?"

"Alright, see you soon!" Fondness seeped into every word. Honestly, how did Shizune manage to get this guy to like her?

"Bye." Shizune pulled the phone away from her ear and hung up. A 10 minute walk to the park wouldn't be that bad. It would probably help to clear her head.

 **2:24pm, April 18**

The rose haired girl walked into the building at first feeling very nervous. Tsunade was real tough when she wanted to be. Would her friends be the same way? She approached the front desk where a girl greeted her. Her blue hair was almost as stunning as her amber eyes. She carefully recited the words Tsunade told her to say in her head before letting them escape her mouth. "Hi, I'm here to see Jiraiya." She offered a heartwarming smile and pointed to the hallway on her left.

"Take one of the elevators to floor 5. Jiraiya will be in there."

"Thank you!" As she walked down the hallway she couldn't help but notice the extravagance of the place. Whoever Jiraiya was, he must be rich! Even the elevator trip was a beauty itself.

As she walked down the hallway of the 5th floor, Sakura noticed open doors and could hear the faint sound of camera clicks. There were murmurs of 'beautiful' and 'fantastic' the closer she approached. When she walked into the room the first thing she took note of was the giant, obnoxious fan to the right of her. It blew a slow gust of wind strong enough to reach the model a short walking distance away. The model was gorgeous. Royal blue eyes, delicate rose petal lips, and an endless stream of gold hair complimented the altogether attractive face. Striking pose after pose, Sakura couldn't help but gawk. Then the eyes landed on her for a brief moment. The model quickly shifted her eyes away toward the camera shifting into another position and with one final movement extended her arm out toward the man behind the camera. It was the signal to stop. She stepped down from the stage area. The stunning woman was barefoot as she padded over to Sakura. The closer she got the more butterflies that spread in Sakura's stomach. Then suddenly she halted. Sakura stared mesmerized in those vibrant eyes. What beautiful hair. Her delicate face broke into a grin. What a beautiful smile. She wrapped her arms around Sakura in a warm embrace.

"Sakura! What are you doing here?" The voice boomed in a deeper voice than Sakura pictured it to be. In fact it sounded incredibly familiar. Her eyes widened as the girl pulled off a wig and stared at her. A closer inspection of the face revealed a chiseled jaw with a stronger build. This was a man. More importantly, this was

"Naruto?" Sakura stepped back. She had nearly fallen in love with a girl that wasn't even a girl. She had half a mind to slap him across the face and another half to unsee Naruto and to once again come face to face with the angel. A man was approaching from behind the deceiving one. He was an older man with a mess of long white hair.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Jiraiya." This was the man that was 'old friends' with her boss? The highly regarded Tsunade herself? One of the first women to make it to the top position of KPFI? And her friend was...taking pictures of a cross dressing male nearly naked. He was definitely a pervert.

"Uhm…" Sakura was speechless. Thankfully, before the awkward interaction dragged on too long, Naruto interjected.

"So, I hear you wanna become a man?"

"No." Nonononononononono ABSOLUTELY NO!

 **2:30pm, April 18**

Shizune laughed as her boyfriend wrapped an arm around her. Food from a local vender tasted great with the bottle of pop they shared together. Her boyfriend wasn't the richest, so whenever they went out it was at more...affordable places. This didn't bother her at all. Being able to go out to a fancier place was nice and all, but she would rather be happy than in debt. They sat down at a bench facing the man-made lake right in the middle of Sahow Park. "Why're you so down?"

"My boss is just a complete idiot." Shizune made sure to add a grimace so he knew how displeased she was. "She has no regards toward the safety of others." He gave a sympathetic half smile.

"That crazy, huh?"

"Even if I can look past what she's doing, I can't drop how she won't listen to me no matter what-" Shizune realized the arm around her was brought back to her boyfriend's side. She had shrugged him off to continue with her long speech. "Er...sorry about that. I know you don't like to hear about my work."

"I don't mind listening to you." He gave a smile of reassurance. There was an awkward silence filling around them. Needing to dispel this to gain back intimacy, Shizune fired off a topic that came into mind.

"Did you know a kid was murdered here today?" Great, that would surely spark a conversation in order to deepen their relationship.

"Really? I didn't see it on the news."

"I think we're going to speak about it around 7:00." She tried to recall what it was. "Maybe Tsunade's going to speak in person? I don't remember." He smiled and kissed her hand lovingly. "Anyways how's your day?" This time inky eyes actually studied the face of her partner. Her head tilted a bit and her eyebrows furrowed as he started to explain about work. "Wait what's this?" She pointed at a freshly made cut half the size of her pinky, but deep enough to scar.

"Oh," He frowned and touched the underside of his chin. "It was just some weird guy. He tried to pull a knife on me while I was getting the food."

"What? Did you see his face? If you tell me his description-"

"Honestly," He pulled her once more to his chest, "I'm just happy to spend an afternoon with you."

"Did he want money from you?" This city was so dangerous! Even in broad daylight people had the guts to pull something like that off.

"Not sure, probably was just with the wrong person at the wrong time." Shizune felt a flash of anger. Great, both her boss and boyfriend were too carefree. One day something might actually happen to them.

 **5:00pm, April 18**

Sakura was ready to die. Pieces of rose hair remained (along with her dignity) in snippets at the foot of the chair she was sitting on. Yes, she did have it short before but this...this was really short! "Is this really necessary? Couldn't I just have put on a wig or something?" Too late for interjections now, the dye was already in her hair. Naruto was pulling the foil off revealing, much to her dismay, chestnut colored hair.

"But wouldn't someone who's seen you before easily identify you? You have bright pink hair." Sakura shut her eyes partially so that she couldn't witness the horror that was occurring and partially to keep the tears from flowing. After some time, Naruto clapped his hands signalling that the deed was done.

She looked like a boy. Short, brown hair actually made a difference in the way she perceived herself. "Alright, now that we've taken care of your face, let's work on your appearance!" Naruto stood her up and pulled out a measuring tape. He paid careful attention to her chest area.

"What are you-"

"This is an extremely important part. I don't want to hurt you." He took more measurements around her chest area. The blonde then moved on to present to her a duffel bag. "There are outfits paired together in here. We have to see which style suits you first." She began walking before a strange cloth was put in front of her. "Don't forget to wear this too. It's a binder to hide your upper chest." She took the duffel bag out of his hands.

"Okay let's see what you have on!" The (now) brunette walked out of a washroom.

"Layers are always good! Don't wear anything too tight and swimming is off limits." She promised to never hang out with her childhood friend again until maybe 3 weeks after this is all forgotten. After taking off and putting on numerous 'male' associated things, most were given the okay to wear. "You look the part. Let's hear and see how you talk."

"Uh like," Sakura tried a lower voice, "...like this?"

"Put more confidence: like you've always sounded this way."

"Like this."

"Now walk towards me and introduce yourself." A blush started to form on the girl's face. She backed up and walked toward him. "No, you have to distribute that energy throughout your body." he demonstrated this by walking toward Sakura, "You can emit power through movement in your shoulders." Green eyes filled with more determination. She backed up and started again.

"Hi, I'm Himitsu."

 **Additional Note: Okay, so maybe the idea of a crossdressing Sakura might seem a little odd. Sorry about such a late post. Next week we'll be focusing on Akatsuki!**


	4. Lion's Den

**Lion's Den**

 **A/N: Yes, it is the same day three chapters later. This chapter will be shorter and of lower quality than usual due to preparing for feast. Happy Late Thanksgiving!**

 **1:06am, April 18**

Deidara felt himself being carried. He couldn't open his eyes, but he heard a car door being opened. Someone put him inside the car and shut the door.

 **4:34am, April 18**

"He had it coming." Deidara heard someone talking. He was lying down on a couch. His arms were in an uncomfortable position. After shifting he noticed the talking stopped. He then noticed a familiar pinch on his neck.

 **2:05pm, April 18**

Deidara awoke shuffling around the house. The blonde only moved when he heard a door slam shut. That was when he noticed the bed he was sleeping in was not his. What happened? Deidara checks his surroundings frantically. Sunlight brightened the room through a window. It was apparent that this room was not used by the bareness and lack of any warmth. Not even the sheets were of good quality to keep warm. What time was it? Where was his phone? Deidara allowed himself to swing over to one side of the bed. He reached for his phone on a table and noticed a piece of paper neatly folded under it. After flipping open the paper, he read the scribbled letters:

 _Good morning Senpai!_

 _I brought you to my apartment_

 _Sorry I couldn't greet you. I had to go_

 _I put your clothes on the shelf at the top_

 _Please don't be mad at me_

 _Well, If you're that unhappy feel free to stay at an Inn_

 _Just joking_

 _Tobi_

Deidara reached for his phone to call Pein. Damn, his phone needed to recharge. He walked over to the shelf and pulled down the bag. That idiot barely packed any clothes! Deidara rummaged around the bag; he eventually gave up on finding a charger. Maybe Tobi has one? He decided to have a look around Tobi's apartment. It was surprisingly organized. Who would've thought Tobi could function without adult supervision?

It was pretty big. To the left of Deidara was a hallway with other doors. To the right, an entrance gave way to a sort of living room/dining room area. As he approached the space, he noticed a couch facing him and a table with all sorts of reading materials underneath. Behind the couch, a couple feet away, was a circular table with two chairs facing opposite directions. He walked over to the table and pulled open the blinds next to it. Bright light washed into the room. He spotted an additional entrance that led to what was supposed to be a kitchen. There was a fridge right upon entering, a stove right next to it, an oven underneath, a microwave directly over said stove, and a sink at the far end. Plates and utensils must be in the cupboards which Deidara was not inclined to look into. As he walked back out into the living room area he spotted the, most likely, front door. However there was no charger in sight. Maybe if he went into Tobi's room?

The blonde retreated to the hallway and opened the next door. It was a bathroom. This was much more messier than anything else he'd seen. Tobi was probably getting ready before he left to..wherever he had to go. It was at this time that the toilet, along with nature, seemed to call out for him. He promptly shut the bathroom door. It was a narrow bathroom. Back at their apartment, Sasori and Deidara could share the bathroom. He felt a pang in his chest. He tried really really hard to stop the flow of memories. They kept on going.

Sasori would've gotten up first. He would've gone straight into the bathroom and taken a nice heated shower. Deidara would've come in as Sasori was getting out of the shower. But by now, they were already used to each other. They shared the same mirror, same sink, and sometimes even-

Deidara was crying. He rocked back and forth in the middle of the floor. His phone and friend dead by his feet.

 **2:13, April 18**

Tobi stared at the blade as people in line backed away. He just wanted food. Why did people have to ruin his day?

 **2:46pm, April 18**

Kisame slowly lowered the barbell just below his chin before giving a short 'tch' and pushing it up above his head. Itachi was going to pick him up soon, but he had time to do one more set. After finishing, he headed over to the locker room. His phone vibrated and he knew it was Itachi. He exited the building and looked around for the familiar car that belonged to his said partner.

"Why did you go to the gym today? We have some errands to run." Itachi spoke once Kisame was inside. The voice was not angry which Kisame appreciated more than anything. It never sounded annoyed, angry, or frustrated. He sounded more disappointed if anything. As if he expected more from you and didn't underestimate you. Itachi was usually indifferent to everything. To hear anything besides a monotonous voice, pleased Kisame.

Itachi was irritated with Kisame. He stopped by his apartment only to realize it was empty. Kisame and Itachi both agreed to have keys to each other's places. Strictly for convenience! Both of them were usually out all day. And in the event that Itachi left the bag at his place, but Kisame was to deliver it alone, it would be too much of a hassle to call the other to get home to open a door. Itachi was the one to suggest the idea. He was strategic in that sense. It was only to make things easier. Itachi didn't want the key for any other reason.

They got to a stoplight and Itachi noticed, out of the corner of his eye, Kisame was staring intensely out the window. When Itachi casually glanced in that direction, he noticed it was a brunette. She was sitting at a bus stop bench staring down at her phone. She wore a floral dress and nice shoes. Itachi supposed her face was-

"Itachi." Itachi moved his head to the road and saw the light was green. He tapped the gas pedal just as a car beeped behind him. Kisame was probably the biggest jock Itachi knew. Of course he would be looking at a girl.

"Do you have the duffel at your place?" Itachi was already beginning to turn the corner and head over to Kisame's.

"No, I thought you had it." Those words were probably Itachi's least favorite to hear before a delivery.

 **3:00pm, April 18**

"Senpaiiii!" Tobi called out into his apartment. "Senpai are you still here?" Deidara looked up. He was still on the bathroom floor. "I brought you some food." He heard Tobi's footsteps echo room to room looking for him. The blonde heard them getting closer and closer before they stopped at the very door Deidara was leaning against. What was he doing? He was locking himself in someone's bathroom and crying. He had to get a grip.

The door creaked open to reveal a wilted dandelion. Tobi hated weeds. "Here's your food! Wanna eat?"

"I think," The voice was heavy with sadness, "I'm just going to go-"

"Go where?" Deidara looked back up. A chuckle emitted from a masked face. "Back 'home'?" It was a mocking tone. "Senpai, you could barely walk in there last night. That was a little over 12 hours ago." Deidara could hear the worry. "And what did you do in the meantime?" The voice held concern and pity. "You cried." Deidara hated the feeling, "So, how about we chow down?" He was hungry. Tobi turned around to make his way toward the kitchen. Deidara made a retort about watching his mouth next time.

 **7:45pm, April 18**

Pein rubbed his temples. Today was a complete mess. Itachi and Kisame lost their package, Deidara wasn't at his apartment nor was he answering the phone calls, Hidan and Kakuzu were creating more debt than collecting, and Kuro and Shiro were talking to Pein right now about why they should kill an old lady. "She wasn't just any old lady. She was Sasori's grandmother." Pein wanted to slam his head against a wall.

"Now why would we go and do a thing like that?"

"Because she knew him! He could've told her stuff about Akatsuki."

"We're not creating anymore trouble for ourselves. Let's just leave it alone. Even if we did kill her it would make it more apparent that there was something suspicious. This was all just gang related violence. It was nothing out of the ordinary. Now where's Deidara?"


	5. The Meeting

**The Meeting**

 **A/N: We apologize for lack of depth in the last chapter and hopefully this will make up for it. It might seem like we haven't given Deidara his speech impediment, but really he just hasn't said much yet. And technically we were supposed to post friday or saturday. So we're not that late.**

 **8:00pm, April 18**

Deidara realized 3 things that night:

1) Charged Phone = Happy Leader

"My phone died on me last night!" Tobi watched as Deidara paced back and forth. Originally Tobi swore left and right that he packed Deidara's charger when getting his stuff. After eating lunch, Deidara checked but it was nowhere to be found. The blonde nearly lost it at that. He almost tore the place apart much to Tobi's amusement. "The idiot lost it, un." On the plus side, Tobi had a really nice phone.

2) Deidara had to get a grip

After the phone call, it began to dawn on him how much he actually cried. This was expected since it happened only yesterday. But after some hot chocolate (literally the dumbass put chocolate in the microwave and heated it) and a good shoulder to cry on (this was unexpected for both of them) he felt it was easier to talk about it. "Do you think he had any family members?" Except dumb questions like those. "I mean family members that know what happened." The question sank like an anchor to the bottom of the blonde's stomach. Deidara knew pretty much everything about him. They talked about all sorts of things; there was never a moment that awkward silence occupied. He took pride in knowing that _he_ trusted him. " _You're the only one I've ever told"_ Those words still made Deidara smile even to this very moment.

"He's only got one family member and that's his grandmother." Tears peaked from the corner of his eyes. "I don't think she knows." In this moment he realized the third thing.

3) He needed to say goodbye

"Tobi."

"Yeah?"

"Tomorrow we're going to get my charger."

 **6:00am, April 19**

Sakura stared up at the apartment. The duffel bag was making her arms ache. Her grip unconsciously tightened on the key that Tsunade gave to her. She was being moved to this apartment for her own safety. It would be good to make sure anyone potentially following her found her real home. Tsunade told her that they had already decorated the place to make sure that it seemed habitable to anyone that might break in. Sakura didn't really understand. What were the chances of anyone really showing up?

When she closed the door she had no trouble locating the bedroom. After dropping her bag, a yawn fought it's way through her mouth. She had stayed up all night researching everything there was to know about Sasori Akasuna. After practicing her 'Himitsu' and packing the clothes she deemed it ready to go. Unfortunately this meant she had zero sleep. She decided not to care and flopped on top of the bed. Maybe she would sleep and get started in an hour or two. She shot Naruto a quick text to come by for a rehearsal to see if everything went according to plan.

 **9:00am, April 19**

Sakura heard the door slam shut. That must be Naruto. She quickly slipped into her clothes and something hit her like a ton of bricks. Naruto didn't have a key and she didn't leave the door unlocked...did she? There were footsteps and some low voices mumbling. Two people? She looked for her gun. Why were they here? A cold feeling settled through her. She left her gun at home, She didn't know what weapons they had with them, and she was afraid. Footsteps began to approach the door. Sakura needed to act fast. She grabbed a book nearby and hid near the door frame. A sneak attack would buy her enough time to run out. Suddenly, the door was pushed open. One heartbeat went by before Sakura saw a mass of blonde hair. She whammed down with all her might. Naruto?! The head reeled back and a hand went up to hold where the impact was made. "Fuck." She saw _it_ and her body froze in place. That ring… Icy blue eyes turned to here in an accusing glare. "Who the HELL are YOU, un?" Sakura was speechless. That ring was part of the Akastuki. What address did Tsunade assign her? She just hit a member of the Akatsuki. _She just hit a member of the Akatsuki._ "How did you get in here?" The ruckus caused someone else to appear. A masked man stood behind him. The angry blonde started walking towards her. "You wanna steal something, huh? Un"

"Uh," Himitsu! She had to be Himitsu!..what would Himitsu say? If I were his cousin... Suddenly all felt right in the world. She plastered the most cross face she could muster. "I should be asking YOU that. What are you doing here?"

"I LIVE HERE!" The masked man stood by the door almost frozen. In the world of this comedy a voice finally spoke.

"Who are you?" It came from the mask and it seemed so calm it distracted even the blonde.

"I'm Himitsu. Sasori's cousin and I want to find out what the hell happened to him." She was happy she practiced that line so many times at her apartment. The blonde stared at her directly in the eyes for the longest time. Sakura could see the sadness in his eyes. So the Akatsuki really cared for him.

"Liar. You don't look a thing like him." Sakura didn't know what to say.

"Are you stupid? He's adopted of course he wouldn't look like me!" Apparently she knew what to say. He didn't look convinced. "So...please," She made sure to avert her eyes to the ground and look as discouraged as possible, "help me find him."

"He's dead. How did you get in?" The voice was steady. Sakura knew he was dead already, but the voice from the mask said it so casually it still shocked her. The blonde turned around and seemed to communicate something because the masked man gave a shrug. "Whaaat? I just want to know!" The voice whined and Sakura was scared. Why is he acting like a child all of a sudden? Nonetheless the blonde turned back toward her.

"How'd you get in, un?" Deidara echoed Tobi.

"He can't be dead…" 'Himitsu' was 'distressed'.

"He is." The blonde's voice held no amount of sympathy. "I saw it myself. He's dead." The truth in that statement tasted wrong to Deidara. Then an idea struck Sakura.

"Who killed him?" She glared accusingly between the two of them.

"We don't know."

"Well," Sakura crossed her arms over her chest, "I'm not leaving until I find out." And there was something in her that made Tobi smile. He liked her.

 **5:40am, April 18**

Shizune was overwhelmed. She stood outside Tsunade's office holding the stack of the files for Topeng. Her arms were about to give out when someone opened the door. She quickly pushed passed them and slammed the stack on Tsunade's desk. The assistant turned around to thank who opened the door, but barely saw the pink hair before the body disappeared behind the corner. "What was Sakura doing in here?" She received no answer as Tsunade opened a random manila folder to examine the content.

"I was...giving instructions for her new assignment." Words failed to convey the disbelief and anger Shizune had.

"You put her in Akatsuki?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"I did."

"How could you?" Shizune stomped over to the front of the desk to face the merciless monster she called her boss. "After all of this?! Did you at least tell her about Sasori?"

"She could be killed if she knew that information." Tsunade spoke defensively.

"She's dead either way if Topeng finds her out!"

"...I know." Tsunade paused. "But isn't it worth a shot to stop all this madness?"

"With Sakura as the sacrifice?" Shizune huffed and there was a long silence. "Why didn't you send _me_ out?" Didn't she qualify? Wasn't she good enough? "Couldn't you have, at the very least, told me?" Wasn't she her most trusted assistant? Her consultant?

"I didn't want to tell anyone. There are spies all around." Gee, that made Shizune feel just swell.

"Oh spare me the paranoid bullshit," Shizune felt the anger bubble up once more, "you didn't tell me because you knew I wouldn't ever agree with your choice to send her out." It surprised both how loud she spoke the word 'out'.

"Shizune-"

"And honestly," Shizune was going to say it. "I knew this would happen to Sasori. I told you not to and you-"

"You're dismissed," Tsunade practically yelled herself to disrupt Shizune mid sentence. It was firm. Tsunade didn't want anymore of Topeng to bother KPFI. Shizune left.

 **9:38am, April 19**

Pein answered a phone call from Tobi. He wasn't expecting to come face-to-face with a dead man's relative. He wasn't prepared for when said relative showed up with Deidara and Tobi demanding to seek 'revenge'. He didn't know about the guilt trip that Himitsu would put him through. This boy obviously cared a great ton about Sasori. But why show up now? Did he want revenge? Was he going to become a member?

 **3:52pm, April 19**

Pein found himself introducing Himitsu to all the members. Each member (mainly Itachi, Kisame, himself, and Shiro) wished their condolences. Tobi, one who never missed an opportunity to slack off, suggested that they all go out to get to know Himitsu and welcome him to Konoha. Pein was surprised that he agreed to that. So all 10 of them decided that they would head over to a local bar tonight. It was an unexpected day to say the least.


	6. Initiation

**Initiation**

 _ *****Comment a question for the Winter Special Chapter where the characters (or authors) answer any questions you ask!*****_

 **6:43pm, April 19**

Himitsu fiddled with his hands. The plans for the 'welcome to Konoha' were canceled and it was decided that he would have dinner with two of the Akatsuki assistants so they could discuss the death of Sasori. Deidara was currently driving him to a restaurant where they were supposed to meet. It was dead silent.

Sakura looked back at what led her to this moment. Tsunade had a key to Sasori's apartment and gave it to her without mentioning that Sasori had roommates. She had no evidence of being Sasori's actual relative. If anything went wrong, it would be everyone finding out she's not a boy. And the biggest question of all: how would she gain their trust? It must be too quiet! She's supposed to be gathering information. "So...I didn't realize Sasori had roommates…"

"I'm his only roommate. Tobi was just there with me." There was an odd emphasis on 'roommate'. Deidara attempted to keep his voice as neutral as possible. Himitsu could feel the anger seeping through the words. Clearly they did not get off on the wrong foot.

"Oh." Silence once more inserted themselves between the two like a wall. Sakura couldn't give up yet. "How long have you two been together?" It was meant to be a light interaction but she saw Deidara's knuckles turn white gripping the steering wheel.

"Since Sasori moved in. You know how long ago _that_ was." No, she didn't. Luckily there was nothing left to say because they had arrived. It was a faded sign with two of the letters missing. The door had an open sign but it looked empty as if it were closed. "Listen, there's only one bed in the apartment…" oh no here it comes, "and I feel bad if I kicked you out on the streets after you traveled all this way," wait what? "So you can just stay there. Don't worry, I'll just be staying with Tobi." Sakura realized how hard this must me. Himitsu smiled.

"Thank you."

 **6:45pm, April 19**

Pein was with Kuro and Shiro in the restaurant. They were in a secluded backroom. The restaurant was in Akatsuki Territory so naturally a giant portion of what they ordered came out as a 'fee' for protection and such. It took awhile, but the family that ran the restaurant eventually came to realize the real law around town.

Pein wasn't sure what to think. This Himitsu guy could be anyone. They needed proof and even if he was why was he here? Did he want revenge? Did he expect Akatsuki to take responsibility and actually get revenge? It wasn't that simple. There was a system in place. The only real conflict was over turf. But what happened to Sasori yesterday...It wasn't suppose to happen.

Pein looked over to Kuro and nodded. Deidara just texted him that Himitsu was going in. A few seconds later the brown haired man entered the room with Shiro following closely behind. He was an odd one to say least. The clothes didn't seem to fit him right and the entirety of his appearance screamed 'please don't look at me'. So he was shy, big deal. But despite having a dull look, Himitsu had to have the most vibrant green eyes Pein's ever seen in his life. It was as if he himself was a shell embracing a vivacious entity and his eyes were the gateway to peer into. A smile formed on his lips as he spoke. "Hey."

"Hi." Sakura winced. That did not sound like Himitsu but if the leader heard it like she did, he didn't mention it.

"How do you like Konoha so far?" Sakura was about to say 'lovely' when she rethought and decided a better word that Himitsu would use.

"It's pretty shitty." Shiro snorted and the smile reformed on Pein's lips.

"Yeah, this isn't the best place. But it's home."

"Yeah…" Like the car ride, Himitsu felt the increasing silence. It stayed that way as Himitsu looked around the private room they were in.

"How close were you to Sasori?" Pein was expecting a few tears or maybe frustration. Sakura knew Himitsu was anything but predictable.

"I'm gonna smash the head of whoever did that to my cousin." It came out so naturally and calm even Sakura was surprised. Himitsu looked directly at Pein. "You're gonna help me, right?"

"It's not that easy. We don't know who killed him." Himitsu wasn't dropping this.

"You know the people that would try." A wild idea flew into Himitsu's head and before Sakura could do anything about it, the words left his mouth. "Let me join you." Himitsu continued before Pein could say no. "You have connections. While you're doing whatever it is you guys do, I can look around and gather some information." Pein remained silent for two more seconds. As he opened his mouth Himitsu interjected one last thing. "Please," This time Sakura allowed the sadness to seap in, "he meant the world to my grandma." Kuro and Shiro looked at each other. With just one word, they would gladly pull this kid outside and kick his teeth out. However Pein wasn't saying anything.

"I really am sorry. But I think Sasori would've wanted you save rather than out at risk of going down the same way he did."

"This isn't about him. It's about my Grandma. I'm doing this for her not someone who ran away from home." Himitsu once again surprised both Pein and Sakura. Of course the idea of bring up the grandmother came to the back of Sakura's mind.

"What can you do that would be of use to Akatsuki?" Himitsu broke out in a smile. It made his eye brighter than ever and Pein studied his face a little longer. It was an attractive face. That was about as much as Pein allowed himself to admit.

"Well..I can shoot a gun…?" Sakura didn't know what else to say. It came out awkward and not at all like the assertiveness she showed just a few seconds ago. The corners of Pein's mouth curved _slightly_.

"Tomorrow you can join Kisame and Itachi." Pein looked over toward the twins. "Go get him a Sasori's ring." He then turned to Himitsu and nodded his chin in the direction they were going in. "You can go with them. I'll see you later."

"Thank you."

 **7:12pm, April 19**

Kuro and Shiro walked into the kitchen area aware of the staff nervously moving around them. Both thought that what Himitsu did was bold, but neither had the same courage to mention it to his face. "We left the ring with a guy we knew." Kuro's voice, Sakura noticed, was a bit rougher.

"There was a bunch of blood on it and that we weren't able to clean." Shiro's voice was much more cheery. Similar to Tobi's Sakura supposed.

"Is it going to be mine now?"

"Yeah, you get a tattoo and everything." Sakura panicked as Shiro continued on. "It kind of hurt when Kuro and I got it but it was bearable.

"Wh-where's the tattoo going to be?" Kuro snorted at how meek Himitsu seemed now.

"Anywhere you want." Shiro really sounded similar to Tobi the longer Sakura heard it.

"Where'd you two get your's?" They turned the corner to a staircase going up and Sakura realized that the restaurant wasn't the only floor. She should've been paying more attention to where she was going outside.

"We both got it near our chest." Sakura was nervous. She would have to ask the others about this tattoo business later.

"He's lying." Wait what?

"Kuro don't ruin the jokes!" Shiro laughed. That was really a scary sound to Sakura. Shiro turned around and smiled. "I was joking. You do get a ring though. They had reached a room upstairs that was mostly empty besides a storage table. They opened one of the drawers and took out a small box. Inside had a shiny purple ring.

"Put it on your thumb." Kuro spoke as he handed the ring to Himitsu. The twins couldn't believe this was actually happening. This kid could seriously be lying and the leader just let him in like that. "Pein will probably have one of the Akatsuki members drop you off."

"Ok." There was an awkward silence as the trio stood their waiting. Realization dawned on Sakura. "Oh, you want me to go? Got it. I'll - uh - see you guys later." It really has been a long day. Sakura walked back downstairs to the room and saw that Pein had left. She was going to go back upstairs but decided it would only make it worse if she forced one of the two to give her a ride back to her apartment. So she decided to walk. Someone should've warned her about wearing the ring in public.


	7. Sorry

**A/N: Sadly we won't be posting a chapter that would advance the plot in Sweet Memories. However, this chapter will consist of questions some of you might have about the story itself. They will be answered by any name we randomly pick out of a hat.**

 _How did Tsunade get the key to Sasori and Deidara's apartment?_

"We don't know." Kuro sighed in frustration. Shiro jumped up excitedly.

"We have some ideas!" Shiro chimed in. "She could've sent out Shizune on a secret spy mission. Then they would've pickpocketed Deidara and had the key copied from one of their employees. Shizune would've swiftly placed the key back in Deidara's pocket."

"We don't know." Kuro emphasized the 'don't' while giving Shiro a long stare.

"She could've had Sasori killed to infiltrate the Akatsuki…" Shiro continued to mumble. "She could even be the Topeng Killer herself!"

"Shiro, we don't know."

"Maybe she knew Sasori?" Kuro placed his hands in front of his face in a sigh.

"We don't know."

 _Will there be any further development between Kisame and Itachi?_

Kakuzu snorted. "I couldn't care less what happened between the two. I've never thought about them together in that sense. But now that you mention it…" Kakuzu grasped his chin, "Yeah, I still don't care."

 _What does Akatsuki do?_

"Easy," Tsunade's voice boomed, "they sell illegal substances, bribe higher-ups, involve themselves in useless territory fights, and worst of all they could possibly be in collaboration with the Topeng Killer himself." Her eyebrows furrowed. "They are a danger to the citizens and must be stopped."

"Easy," Pein smiled, "being and Akatsuki member is basically a job. We get money and we can survive. I know for a fact Itachi uses the money to support him and his brother. Without the income, I'm pretty sure lawyers would've had Sasuke under custody to his uncle, Obito Uchiha. Me? I give some of it to Konan." His eyes lit up at the mention of her name, "She needs it more than I do. She's got a kid to feed. I'm pretty sure everyone else basically needs the money to support themselves." Pein gave a slight shrug. "The Akatsuki are lifesavers. Sure we sell some drugs and get into some fights; in a city like this, how else are you supposed to get by?"

 _What did Itachi and Kisame lose?_

"Drugs." A smile melted through Kisame's face. "Oh man," laughs slowly rolled out in waves the more he thought about it, "Pein was. Pissed. Off." The laughing soon died out. "It wasn't really a big deal. Luckily, we were able to persuade the guy we were selling it to and now we've planned another date to meet up."

 _Please note that the information given was for the reader's enjoyment. No questions will be carried into the plot. These were theoretical interviews to just add a little perspective and insight to some questions you might've had._


	8. Dilemma

**Dilemma**

 **A/N: So we've switched between Sakura and Himitsu to represent their skill bases and the mindset that Sakura is in. Himitsu is supposed to be the quick thinker/talker while Sakura is trained under Tsunade (including fighting).**

 **7:15pm, April 19**

It was a peaceful walk towards the apartment. Getting a taxi would be easy, but at the moment she didn't have any cash. Plus it would be best to sort out her thoughts. The walk was lengthy, but Sakura didn't mind. That was until she ran into trouble. Or more specifically: she was jumped, knocked down, and beaten.

She didn't notice the people following behind her. When Sakura turned the corner that was when they swung and hit her in the gut. Himitsu doubled over and two others behind grabbed him. His legs dragged across the sidewalk as he was led to an alley. "You Akatsuki are gonna regret pissing off the Yami." The 'boy' was unceremoniously dropped onto the dirty cement; which followed by repeated kicking in the ribs in order to keep him on the ground. "You sick fucks were the one's that ratted us out," Sakura saw something flash in the corner of her eye; it was a pocket knife. Himitsu stayed down. "How about to make up for it you give us your ring?" The gears started turning and Himitsu refused to move. "Don't worry about it, we'll just take it with your finger."

There were three people. The one with the knife moved down and Himitsu waited for his time to strike. When the blade touched her fingers, Sakura lurched her arm out and yanked him down. The momentum caught everyone off balance as she skillfully curled her arms around the knife. She turned over and put him in a chokehold with a knife at his throat and pulled both of them up into a standing position. Himitsu spoke. "It's a fair trade right?"

She watched two pairs of eyes widen before a burst of laughter erupted. "Sasori dying wasn't our idea." Himitsu was referring to the throat being slit rather than his fingers, but this sounded more interesting. "In fact, we were gonna kill that leader of yours. But somebody paid a handsome price just to get-" He felt a pinch at the base of his kneck. Just as Himitsu's vision began to fade, anger erupted. She didn't realize there was a fourth person...had they been behind her the entire time..?

 **4:00pm, December 3**

"Well then what's wrong with her?" Fugaku Uchiha was getting impatient. His first born was supposed to take control when he died. Marrying someone of a higher status would elevate him even further. Didn't Itachi see that he was only trying his best to help him?

"I'm gay." That was when Itachi looked at Fugaku in the eyes. That was when his mother cried _because_ of him. His brother was somewhat young and even then his parents watched their interaction like a hawk. God forbid he passes the 'Gay Sickness' to his little brother. That was when every Uchiha began to view him differently. His relationship with Shisui was looked at in an entirely different way. Personally, he was glad it was finally out there. The pride must have been the last straw however. Before long, he lost the property along with the money he would inherit once his parents passed away. All was given to Sasuke. Itachi wasn't upset. That money was acquired through murders, dirty promises, and unnecessary violence and he didn't want any part in that. How ironic that he would be doing the very same thing in order to get the medication he needed not too long after his entire family was killed. It was only him and Sasuke; he would protect him with his life.

 **9:02pm, April 19**

Sakura opened her eyes and was afraid that she had been raped. She attempted to sit up but let out a whimper when her torso protested. Himitsu quickly glanced around to make sure no one was around to hear that, but the dizziness caused him to collapse back down. It dawned on him that he was still in the alley but nobody was around. Sakura quickly got up in a panic and leaned against the brick wall as everything began to spin. After a good two or three minutes of fighting the urge to barf, Sakura looked around and found no trace of the four people that jumped her. She walked out of the alley toward the apartment.

When she finally arrived, the lightheaded feeling only seemed to worsen. Sleeping seemed like the best option. **8:45am, April 20**

Sakura woke up to the door banging and her phone ringing. She looked at her phone and read the name: unknown. "Hello?" There was a pause at the end of the line and realized that it could be any of the Akatsuki members seeing as she had none of their contacts.

"Hi! This is Jeff is Himitsu nearby?" It sounded vaguely familiar. Didn't Pein say she was supposed to go with Kisame and Itachi?

"O-oh sure." She dropped the phone to her lap and paused for a few moments. Himitsu brought it back to his ear making sure to sound like he just woke up. "Hello?"

"It's Kisame. We're outside of the apartment. Do you need some time to...get ready?"

"I'm sorry yes! Yes! I would!" Himitsu was red. The playfulness in Kisame's voice was not what he expected. "I'll be out in a few." After promptly hanging up, Sakura decided that it wouldn't be so bad to die right now.

 **8:46am, April 20**

Kisame and Itachi were both silent. "He had a girl with him?" The seriousness in Itachi's voice and the reality of the situation was too messed up for Kisame not to burst into a small chuckle.

"Sorry! Sorry! It's just so fucked up that this kid just lost someone he loves and still finds time to sleep around." Itachi squinted at the red blob that was most likely a stop sign. "She sounded kinda hot though." It took all his might not to roll his eyes to the back of his head. Before asking how anyone could determine attractiveness based on voice, Himitsu approached the car looking disheveled. He opened the back door and slipped in.

"So what are we doing today?" Kisame snorted.

"We're not moving anywhere until I get to see her face." Itachi practically felt the embarrassment from Himitsu. "You look so red right now!" Kisame laughed again. "Sorry, sorry it's none of my business anyways." Himitsu didn't respond. "Well we're basically going to be out on a little delivery." The car slowly pulled away from the apartment and picked up speed. "Pein probably wants to get a feel on what you'll be able to contribute to Akatsuki. By the way…" Himitsu and Kisame made eye contact through the rear-view mirror, "You got the ring right?" He gave an affirmative nod. "Awesome. You're gonna have to wear that whenever you go out." Silence grew increasingly and déjà vu slapped Himitsu. He had to find out information right now.

"So...You two work together?" Himitsu noticed that it was mostly Kisame with the bright, talkative attitude while Itachi was the silent type.

"Yeah, it's kinda weird. Everyone just works in pairs. It's me and Itachi, Hidan and Kakuzu, Kuro and Shiro, Deidara and," Himitsu was surprised when he heard Itachi murmur something, "Tobi!" He's new too but he used to hang around Kuro and Shiro so he knows the ropes. "We're here!" They arrived at a dock. "Pein wanted me to first warn you about some of our competitors." He pointed out toward a burned down area with police tape. "Basically we got into an little trouble with Yami over that burned down area." Himitsu was speechless.

"I just got jumped by them!" Both Kisame and Itachi turned his head to the side to stare at him.

"Are you okay?" The genuine concern on Itachi's features was enough to evoke a small blush on Sakura's face. He's so sweet.

"Yeah, I got knocked out by one of them and when I woke up they were gone."

"That's...oddly..fortunate for you.." Itachi's concern immediately changed to suspicion. Did he not believe him? He's so accusatory!

"What he means to say is he's surprised that's all that happened. Y'see Deidara was..uhm.." The smile disappeared on his face and Himitsu felt something off about the hesitance, "He was raped by them at one point. It was awhile ago, but it was fucked up. Deidara wasn't the same." Sakura didn't know what to say. "But uh.." Kisame's smile was back but in a gentle way, "Sasori helped him out I think. He was a good guy." Himitsu turned away.

"Yeah...that sounds like him alright." Himitsu would be oddly touched and feel like he was about to cry. Of course Deidara would harbor such a protective attitude about Sasori's questionable relative. This guy helped him out a lot. They probably got really close. Sakura studied the police tape. "So what actually happened at the building?"

"We needed some help, they helped, some information got leaked, they thought it was us, blah blah blah." It seemed too complicated to sum up into just a sentence. Sakura needed to find out more.


	9. Delivery

**Delivery**

 **A/N: We'd just like to say thank you for your support and have a Happy New Year!**

 **8:55am, April 20**

Sakura understood that she shouldn't pry or seem too interested in Akatsuki's falling out with Yami. Another time would come when she would be able to investigate into it deeper. "So…Yami's your only competition?" Himitsu didn't think much of them. A bunch of pussies is what they were. Running away like that? Weak.

"There's also Byaku." Kisame pulled away and started toward a different destination. "I wouldn't really worry about them though. They're more a family thing like Sharin; the Hyuga's run it."

"Who's Sharin?" Sakura knew Yami and Byaku, but Sharin seemed hardly recognizable. Kisame looked over at Itachi and mumbled something. This seemed to motivate Itachi to speak once more.

"They were run by the Uchiha." Weren't they all killed? Sakura could remember when the incident occurred. Her parents wore a grim expression that day. Apparently that was all Itachi had to say because he didn't speak again. Kisame decided to speak again to fill the silence.

"There's also Anbu." He glanced sideways toward Itachi once more and a light chuckle escaped his mouth. "They're more political if anything." Himitsu was confused and bothered between their interactions. It was like the two shared an inside joke every second. Kisame seemed to pick up his irritation however and felt the need to explain that Itachi had once been involved with them. No other conversation ensued after that and Himitsu was fine with that. "We're here!" Himitsu looked around.

"Why are we here?" They were at an outlet mall. Itachi without hesitation picked up a backpack by his feet and exited the car. Was this the delivery? So out in the open?

"Itachi's just picking up something." Was he picking up the delivery? Sakura felt something twist in her gut. KPFI never suspected that drugs came from outlet malls. Of course that's a perfect way to get away from the real police. Mall cops wouldn't do a damn thing! Himitsu was in too much suspense to even ask questions. After 10 minutes Itachi returned. He was carrying the backpack along with a shopping bag that had bold words of 'BeLeaf It!' on the cover. To Sakura it made perfect sense. BeLeaf was a popular store that sold all kinds of things from shirts to bandages to food. Who would stop and frisk a man holding a shopping bag near a fucking outlet? Genius! "So you found it without trouble?" Itachi confirmed and Sakura felt even more confused.

"I was the first one there when they opened." Was this a code language?

"Can I see it?" Itachi with what seemed to be inherent pride opened the bag and pulled out what, to Sakura, seemed to be….shampoo?

"What the fuck?" Himitsu couldn't control his dialogue. Kisame burst into laughter and Itachi quickly shoved it back in the bag and turned away.

"Next stop."

 **8:37am, April 20**

Deidara had worked all night since yesterday on assembling a minor bomb. Thankfully, his 'new roomie' (Deidara would never speak the word out loud) checked in shortly and brought food here and there.

It had taken awhile, but Deidara had finally adjusted to living with Tobi. It wasn't that bad since he was out so often. What Tobi was doing out, Deidara didn't know; but as long as they both stayed out of each other's way, it ran pretty smoothly. They even did each other favors. Tobi, more often than not, come home with lunch or dinner and almost never forgot to bring Deidara something as well. Deidara returned the favor by replenishing the milk, taking out the trash, or cleaning up here and there.

There was always an unspoken rule that Deidara honestly couldn't care less about: Never go into Tobi's room. Whenever Deidara would approach the room Tobi would appear out of nowhere and kindly 'suggest' something else Deidara could be doing. It was understandable and not really that big of a deal.

But what was a big deal was the fact that Deidara had to take a shower and his shampoo had run out. Of course he could just go out and buy it - but he had to finish the bomb that Kisame and Itachi were coming over to pick up. The thought sunk into his head and a text was sent as quickly as the idea popped into Deidara's mind.

 _Deidara: "Pick up something for me before u show up"_

 _Kisame: "Where?"_

 _Deidara: "Doesn't matter. Just get Lucy's Locks Shampoo"_

 _Kisame: lmao what?!_

 _Deidara: Stfu. U can make your own damn bomb unless I get my shampoo_

The text conversation didn't go as Deidara had planned it to, but Deidara could handle a few teasing remarks from Kisame.

 **9:18am, April 20**

When Deidara opened the door he wasn't expecting three people. Kisame and Itachi were a given, but Himitsu showing up… He wasn't surprised Pein accepted him, but having him follow Kisame and Itachi around. "Do you have it?"

Deidara looked disheveled and grumpy. He glared at the trio for a good 10 seconds before greeting them - if that even counted as a greeting. Itachi passed over the bag and Deidara's face seemed to light up. "Do _you_ have it?" Deidara immediately snatched the bag and nodded his head to indicate that they should come inside. Himitsu supposed that this was where Tobi lived. Itachi went for the couch and sat. Himitsu followed and awkwardly avoided sitting too close to Itachi. Sakura wondered if that was how Himitsu was supposed to sit. Kisame remained standing with his eyes roaming all over the room.

"So this is where Tobi lives…" Deidara returned with a white box. "How is it rooming with each other?" A broad smile made it's way across Kisame's lips.

"Fine." The tone clipped the joke at the bud and didn't allow the teasing to continue. The blonde pointed to the inside of the box. "I've been working on this one over 12 hours. Take care of it, un."

"That long?" Kisame picked up the box and moved towards the door. "Alright, we'll see you around, Deidara." Once the door closed Deidara slumped over. The first thing he was gonna do was take a nice, steamy shower.

Once they got into the car, Kisame handed the box over to Himitsu who, after the shampoo incident, couldn't help but imagine for ½ of a second that it was a cake. "What is it?"

"A bomb." Kisame looked in the rear-view mirror to meet your panicked gaze. "Don't worry. Deidara always makes this kinda stuff with extra care."

"Why didn't Pein just have Deidara go do it?"

"Pein's trying to give Deidara a break. It's been a pretty rough couple days for him." Himitsu kept quiet for awhile. When Kisame stopped the car they were near the dock area again.

"We're just getting this near that area. It's completely isolated at this time of day." Kisame gestured with his fingers. "You and Itachi will go and I'll take the car and meet you on the other end near the east entrance. I'll be least likely to be spotted there." Himitsu's stomach dropped. Itachi exited wordlessly and the 'boy' scrambled to follow shortly behind.

The two walked wordlessly. Himitsu hated the silence. Sakura saw it as an opportunity to pry further. "What's the goal once we blow that dock area up?"

"It's supposed to be a statement. Out here in the daylight, an explosion would be acknowledged and probably put on the news immediately. It would be seen by more people and word would get around faster."

"So we want to make a statement about…?"

"This is to get back at Yami. This harbor is a great asset to them. If an accident does occur that would prompt the possibility of police searching the area, it would be detrimental to their territory." Sakura remembered what Yami told her in the alley last night. They were paid by someone to kill Sasori specifically. What could've Sasori done to cause that?

Eventually they reached the place they needed. Itachi placed the bomb against the wall of a nearby storage unit. "Once we get to the east entrance, then we'll set it off."

"It can work that far away?"

"That's what Deidara's bombs are best known for." When Itachi took one step the world began to spin. He almost lost his balance as his foot nearly kicked the deadly bomb. Himitsu caught his arm.

"Are you okay?" The genuine concern etched on his features made Itachi think of his parents. _Beep._ Itachi looked over and was shocked. Did he kick it? Was there something faulty with the bomb?

"We have to get out of here." Taking a step further, another wave of sickness hit Itachi. This time Himitsu took Itachi's arm over his shoulder and began to briskly move away from the detonating explosion box. Himitsu was able to take them a good distance away before the explosion occurred. Sakura turned around to watch the dock become fully engulfed in flames. She looked around and spotted another entrance. They had to get there before anyone else arrived on the scene.

Sakura heard voices and roughly yanked Itachi up to pull him along. They had to keep going or else it could mean trouble. By the time they reached the car, Kisame was out and assisted Himitsu in putting Itachi back in the car. Sirens began to wail. "Shit. We gotta go." Himitsu didn't even close the car door before Kisame began to drive off.


End file.
